Apollo 11: Men on the Moon

This 3-DVD collection is the most comprehensive set ever detailing the first lunar landing. And now this collection features the newly enhanced EVA footage (2009).

DISC 1

MAKING READY

This disc features the stacking of the launch vehicle and spacecraft, stage by stage, in the VAB, checkout of the spacecraft with the crew in the altitude chamber, rollout to the pad, and operations at the pad.

Departure - Contains footage from launch day of the crew suiting up, transferring to the pad, and boarding the spacecraft. The TV launch is an edited Kennedy Space Center television feed of the Apollo 11 launch from T minus 56 minutes.

15 separate Launch views are available on-the-fly using the angle button on your DVD player. Static Views features the launch from stationary cameras and the vehicle moves out of frame. Tracking View cameras follow the vehicle. Pad Camera views are close-up and slow-motion. Surround sound tracks accompany the launches. Also contains footage of damage to the pad.

Fly Me To The Moon - After trans-lunar injection, the CSM turned and docked with the lunar module, then moved away from the Saturn V third stage for the trip to the moon. The docking maneuver was recorded with the 16mm data acquisition camera.

Tranquillity Base - Spacecraft separation prior to landing occurred when the spacecraft were on the far side of the moon. The operation was filmed with the 16mm data acquisition camera. After separation Michael Collins examined the lunar module to make sure the legs were properly deployed.

Lunar Landing was filmed through the lunar module pilot's window using the 16mm DAC camera. This segment depicts the descent with multiple audio tracks, including air to ground, onboard recorder, flight director, and LM controller loops. Lunar Landing commentary includes astronaut commentary from the post-flight debriefing.

The Saturn V launch vehicle remains the largest and most powerful successful launch vehicle in history. Thirteen times the Saturn V launched, and thirteen times it was successful. Apollo 11's Saturn V was its sixth flight.

DISC 2

LUNAR SURFACE EVA

Television from the lunar surface was via a black and white camera. Initially, this camera was attached to the modular equipment stowage assembly (MESA) which was lowered to a position off to the side of the ladder. After Armstrong and Aldrin were on the surface, the camera was placed on a tripod and moved to a location in order to present an overall view of activities. Westinghouse manufactured the lunar surface television camera. The scan rate was 10 frames per second at 320 lines of resolution.

The first lunar surface EVA was designed to test the ability of man to work in the lunar environment, collect samples for investigation on Earth, and to deploy a small number of experiments. Neil Armstrong was outside the lunar module for two hours and thirty-one minutes. Buzz Aldrin spent one hour and fifty minutes outside the spacecraft. Man's first moonwalk was considered a complete success.

DISC 3

COMING HOME

Probe and Drogue - On the way to the moon the crew turned on the television camera to broadcast a look at the probe and drogue docking equipment. These devices must be removed to clear the tunnel between the command module and the lunar module. After removal, the transmission features a tour of Eagle. PRODUCER NOTE: This transmission was before the lunar landing, and is on disc 3 due to space considerations.

Landing Site - After entering lunar orbit, the crew gave Earth a look. Apollo 11's crew were just the third crew to have ever entered lunar orbit. PRODUCER NOTE: This TV transmission actually occurred before arriving at the moon, and is on disc 3 due to space.

Crew Demonstrations - On the way back from the moon, the crew conducted a scheduled broadcast demonstrating life aboard Columbia

Crew Statements - During this broadcast, the last during Apollo 11's journey, the crew made individual statements about their thoughts on the mission.

Onboard Film - In this 16mm data acquisition camera film, views were taken of the ascent from the surface, the approach of Eagle after lunar liftoff, views of the lunar surface from orbit, and life aboard Columbia.

Mission Accomplished - Columbia returned to the Earth on July 24, 1969. Includes footage from entry through the recovery of Columbia and the packing of lunar samples for shipment to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory.

EVA Training - From a training session during which Armstrong and Aldrin practiced their activities on the lunar surface.

Landing Training - Since the lunar module could not be flown in Earth's atmosphere, numerous devices and vehicles were created to train for the lunar landing. This footage demonstrates two methods - at the lunar landing research facility in Langley, VA, and a flight of the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle.

Product Reviews

Hands-down the best presentation of Apollo 11 in existence

Dave W(Colorado)7/2/2014 1:04 PM

Most everybody knows what Apollo 11 accomplished, and this set takes us deeper into the mission than any other program or documentary I’ve ever seen. Whereas most other programs truncate the material available and/or focus primarily on the astronauts and their experience on the lunar surface, Spacecraft Films’ approach is comprehensive, focusing on the mission’s entirety, including a lot of information about the training of the astronauts, their experience flying to/from the moon (not just their moonwalks alone), and the vehicles that facilitated the mission. I was deeply impressed with the amount of film presented here surrounding the stacking and transfer of the Saturn V used for Apollo 11 during the arduous months of hard work preceding its launch. The launch footage itself is superb as well. The best thing about the moonwalk (again, presented in its entirety) is that the original TV transmission, the 16mm onboard DAC footage, still photographs, and the audio loops are interactively overlaid where appropriate. The only minor gripe I have is probably something that can’t be fixed easily, so I’m not too concerned about it, but throughout the EVA, the TV footage, the onboard DAC footage, and the audio loop suffer from synchronization problems. At first everything appears to be in synch, but by the end, the audio loop and the two sources of film footage (TV and DAC) are out of sync by about 2 to 3 seconds. Again, this is NOT a show-stopper and should not preclude anyone from purchasing this marvelous set, but it is something that jumped out at me. Hopefully Spacecraft Films' forthcoming Blu-ray disc for the Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Operations cleans up some of these synchronization issues. Lastly, I can't think of a better way to celebrate the 45th anniversary of Apollo 11 than to purchase this set and relive those timeless moments when mankind first set foot upon another world. Any other Apollo 11 program will fall short!

History On Film

Mark Bowyer(Banbury, Oxfordshire)2/14/2013 12:26 PM

J.F. Kennedy challenged the entire nation to work together to build, test and fund the race to the Moon. With the success of Apollo 11, America showed what can be done when many strands of Government and Industry are brought together. The first steps of Neil Armstrong are probably one of the most important events in the history of humankind. This box set contains both the familiar footage we have all seen before as well as less well known film.

Apollo 11: Men on the Moon

Anonymous(Unknown)12/14/2007 2:06 PM

A wonderful set indeed to have in anyone's video collection. Mr. Gray did an outstanding job in reasearching the material and filtering the video signal for best reproduction, though what I found a little troubling is that Mark didn't put the proper sequence of event from liftoff to splashdown on those three discs. The viewer has to jump around the disc from disc 1 to 3 then back to 1 again just to view in a proper order. But all in all these is about the best set you'll find anywhere on the face of the earth. I Still highly recommend this set as well of his other sets!

Apollo 11:Men on the Moon

Anonymous(Unknown)12/28/2007 3:47 AM

The best you kan get,you do a super job...i hope you never give upp,best regards from Stefan Pettersson in Sweden Gothenburg,a big fan of the American spaceprogram!

Apollo 11

Anonymous(Unknown)12/4/2007 5:01 AM

An absolutely priceless piece of history. Mark Gray has done what I would have wanted to do, compile a comprehensive history of Apollo 11 out of actual archival footage. I suppose no one but a total space nut like myself would want to sit and watch the whole 10 hours, but I think everyone in America should own this set. Apollo 11 is one of the most significant events in all history, and unlike so many events in history, it is recorded and preserved for all time. I was born after Project Apollo was canceled, so I was never able to participate in the great adventure. Through this set, I am able to see and hear what Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins said and did, how it all happened, with no ambiguity or reinterpretation by revisionist historians, and with keen firsthand insight into the men themselves, unfiltered by a third party such as an author or interviewer. The two-and-a-half-hour moonwalk, in my opinion, is as engaging and fascinating as any science fiction movie. I've already watched this set all the way through three time. STRONGLY recommended!